Avoiding Complexity: How to Simplify HubSpot Workflows for Better Results

The Power of Simplicity in HubSpot Workflows

Have you ever set up a workflow in HubSpot that seemed brilliant—until you realized it was confusing your team, breaking at critical moments, or even causing customer delays? Overly complex workflows are a common pitfall, leading to inefficiencies and lost productivity. In fact, research shows that complex workflows can reduce productivity by over 30%, creating frustration for everyone involved.

In this blog post, we’ll explore why simplicity is key to effective workflows, especially in HubSpot. We’ll walk through practical steps to streamline your automation, ensuring that your workflows are clear, efficient, and impactful for both your team and your customers.

The Downsides of Overly Complex Workflows

Why is simplicity so crucial? When workflows get too complicated, they can become more of a burden than a benefit. Here’s how:

• Increased Errors and Missed Steps: Complex workflows are hard to follow, leading to skipped steps or overlooked tasks. When automation isn’t seamless, your team often has to step in manually—defeating the purpose of automation in the first place.
• Difficulties in Management and Maintenance: Overly complex workflows require ongoing attention to keep them running smoothly. This can drain time and resources, with your team constantly having to fix, monitor, or explain processes that should run on their own.
• Reduced Customer Satisfaction: When workflows are over-engineered, customer communication can suffer. Delays in follow-ups, missed messages, or inconsistent interactions can leave customers feeling undervalued, which could damage their relationship with your business.

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, it’s time to think about streamlining.

Steps to Keep Your HubSpot Workflows Simple and Effective

Here are three foundational steps to create workflows that work smoothly without the stress of unnecessary complexity.

Start Simple

Why It Matters: Building workflows should be like laying a solid foundation—you want to begin with the essentials and layer on more complexity only if it’s absolutely needed.

Tips: Start with straightforward workflows that handle the basics, like a lead qualification process or a welcome email series. Think about tasks that genuinely benefit from automation and build workflows around them without over-complicating things.

Clear Documentation

Why It Matters: Documenting workflows ensures everyone understands how they work, reducing confusion and making it easier to tweak things later on.

Tips: Create a “workflow blueprint” that outlines the purpose, steps, and goals of each workflow. This can be as simple as listing each step in a shared document or even creating a visual flowchart. With clear documentation, your team knows exactly what each workflow is supposed to do, which makes onboarding and troubleshooting much easier.

Regular Reviews and Optimizations

Why It Matters: Even simple workflows can accumulate unnecessary steps over time. Regularly reviewing and refining workflows keeps them running efficiently.

Tips: Schedule regular check-ins to review each workflow. Look for redundancies, unnecessary steps, or outdated triggers that no longer serve a purpose. Simplifying where possible can prevent issues and improve overall efficiency.

How to Simplify Existing Complex Workflows

If you already have workflows that are more complex than they need to be, don’t worry—here’s how to make them simpler and more effective.

Breaking Down Overcomplicated Workflows

Why It Matters: Sometimes, workflows become too intricate because they’re trying to do too much at once. Breaking these down into smaller, focused workflows makes each one easier to manage and troubleshoot.

Tips: For example, if you have a single workflow managing everything from lead qualification to customer follow-ups, try dividing it into smaller workflows, such as one for lead nurturing and another for post-sale engagement. Smaller workflows are easier to test, optimize, and adjust as your needs evolve.

Using HubSpot’s Workflow Templates

Why It Matters: HubSpot provides a library of templates designed to cover common processes. These templates can give you a simple starting point that you can adapt as needed, without overthinking the setup.

Tips: Explore HubSpot’s workflow templates for processes like customer onboarding, lead nurturing, or post-event follow-ups. Using templates can save time and reduce errors by giving you a proven framework to start with, which you can tweak based on your team’s feedback.

Testing and Iterating

Why It Matters: Streamlining workflows isn’t a one-and-done process. Testing on a small scale ensures your workflows work as intended before rolling them out fully.

Tips: Run a trial with a small group of leads or customers and gather team feedback. Are there any steps they found confusing? Were there any delays or issues with follow-ups? Use this feedback to make adjustments and refine the workflow until it runs smoothly.

Recognizing the Symptoms of Overly Complex Workflows

Not sure if your workflows are too complex? Here are some signs to watch for:

Team Confusion: If team members are frequently asking questions or missing steps, it’s a sign the workflow isn’t intuitive.

Regular Errors or Breakdowns: Complex workflows are more prone to breakage. If workflows need constant intervention to run properly, they may be overcomplicated.

Customer Complaints or Delays: Delays in customer communications or inconsistent follow-ups often point to a workflow that’s trying to do too much. Simplifying can help ensure smoother interactions.

The Benefits of a Streamlined Workflow Strategy

Simplifying your workflows isn’t just about cutting steps—it’s about creating systems that work seamlessly, without constant attention. By starting with the basics, documenting each process, and regularly reviewing your workflows, you’ll experience less stress, more productivity, and a better customer experience.

Want to learn more about optimizing your HubSpot setup? Download our free guide,"5 Common HubSpot Mistakes Costing You Customers," for insights into avoiding workflow complexity and other common HubSpot pitfalls. Start streamlining your workflows today and get the most out of your HubSpot investment!